Remote Access Projects: ongoing

Charts and tide almanacs.

A new copy of Eldridge Tides and Currents is good to have. The summary information in tide charts is sufficient for most purposes but Eldridge provides greater detail and provides the very useful tidal current sketches. Going through Polluck's Rip, or even Round Shoal Channel, would require the information on currents provided in Eldridge. An old copy of Eldridge and a current tide chart is good but an up to date copy is better and not at all expensive.

We bought a new Waterproof Charts 50E (Chatham, Pleasant Bay and Monomy Island) years ago, then two more a few year back. Maptech has stopped updating this chart and officially no longer carries it.

We've collected the small scale charts for the immediate area, covering Cape Cod Bay, Nantcket, and Martha's Vineyard. The Waterproof Charts have some large scale insets providing details for some harbors. We have most of the larger scale NOAA charts that we would need to sail as far south as Block Island. The are some harbor charts that we could use. If we sail south of Block Island we will need to start collecting charts for Long Island Sound.

For the most part our collection of charts is more than sufficient for where we normally sail. A few NOAA charts got wet and while still usable should be replaced. If we venture to new places we'll need to add to our chart collection. This is a never ending process.

Coastal pilots and light lists.

We have not yet purchased or seen a need for the Coastal Pilots or Light Lists. I did obtain copies of the Coastal Pilots online and might consider buying these and Light Lists later when more seriously cruising.

Second set of foul weather gear.

We now have one set of good breathable coastal foul weather gear. It gets very cold in this foul weather gear when temps are much below 50 without plenty of layers underneath. We could use a second set of foul weather gear. We also need some better fast drying warm lower and mid layer clothing. For now buying sailing clothing is ongoing.

Tools to be kept onboard.

The first part of this task is to identify those tools that should normally be kept onboard. So far the normal hand tools are onboard, screw dirvers, pliers, vice grips, rigging knives, small diameter nylon line, seizing wire, whipping line, rope dope, and a few other items. This represents a fairly minimal set of tools. Some electrical tools have been brought aboard as needed and have their own toolbox. It doesn't seem like bolt cutters and hacksaws are really needed since we don't expect to be pushing the rigging anywhere near the point of dismasting. Perhaps another few seasons will determine what other tools are needed.

Small part spares.

This is somewhat of an ongoing task although it should be possible to inventory every clip, cotter pin, clevis pin, shackle, and other small part that could potentially fall overboard while rigging, or fail. A vernier caliper helps in determining sizes but I've replace these and haven't written all the sizes in one place. A quick list (without the size of each item) follows.

1. (1) clevis pin and ring clip for backstay,
2. (2) clevis pin and ring clip for upper shrouds,
3. (4) clevis pin and ring clip for lower shrouds,
4. (2) cotter pins for forstay,
5. (2) shackles and special clevis pins for furler,
6. (4) self tapping screws for masthead wiring entrance (#6 3/4 inch) and finishing washers,
7. (2) cotter pins for backstay turnbuckle
8. (4) cotter pins for upper shroud turnbuckles,
9. (8) cotter pins for lower shrouds turnbuckles,
10. (1) clevis pin and ring clip for furler (used to raise foil),
11. (1) bolt, washers, and nut for mast step,
12. (1) pin for mailsail tack.

It is also helpful to have spare line and spare blocks. We have some spare 5/16 and 3/8 dacron line in three approximate 50 foot lengths, with one being considerably longer. We have a few spare blocks with fairly heavy capacity, including some doubles. We have quite a few very light blocks which may not be of much use. We also try to keep 1/8" nylon on hand, rigging tape, whipping line, rope dope, and at least two rigging knives.

At this point small spare parts is listed as an ongoing though largely complete project. An inventory of spare parts, such that the collection can be periodically checked and refreshed would allow this to be listed as a completed project.

Electrical spares.

Electrical spares include fuses, bulbs, and small items used for repair such as crimp connectors, electrical tape (temporary only), wire ties, wire restraint clips. Right now we have no spare bulbs and don't even have a list of bulb sizes.

It would also be a good idea to have a list of spare fuses. We don't have such a list, at least one that has been verified. A list from memory follows. We do have spare 80A, 60A (or 70A?), 40A, and 30A MAXI fuses for the battery load side (80A), the inverter (60A), the battery charging side (40A), and the charging sources (30A) and main load distribution (30A). We have an assortment of AGC glass fuses for the various individual circuits. Some of the sizes we have in spare AGC fuses include 0.5A, 1A, 2A, and 5A. I don't think we have any 10A fuses in AGC. We also have the ATC fuses in either 10A, 15A, or 20A (not sure which but the bilge pump circuit uses these).

Shop tools for the home.

We've purchased a new tablesaw to replace one that had rusted in the garage due to a water leak. We also have a new surfacer. These come in very handy when working with the raw teak which comes in rough cut 1x3 or 1x6 boards. A band saw and drill press would be handy for woodwork but large tools such as this are best purchased when truly needed. Other than those few tools we seem to be in very good shape in terms of shop tools at home.

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